Supporting device.



N. H. HOLLAND. SUPPORTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1912.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

fzzzzeiziaiv UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NEWMAN H. HOLLAND, OF WEST ORANGE, JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO THOMAS A. EDISON, INCORPORATED, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NEWMAN H. HoL- LAND, a subject of the King of Great Brit-- ain, and a resident of WVest Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Supporting Devices, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to supporting devices and more particularly to an improved supporting device for sound conveyors of phonographs, telephone transmitters, and the like.

The principal objects of my invention reside in the provision of improved means for supporting a member, such as the sound conveyer of a phonograph, from a phonograph cabinet or other suitable support, which permits the member to be readily adjusted to any desired position with respect thereto, and which at the same time w1ll frictionally hold the member in any posltion to which it has been adjusted; and in the provision of an improved bracket forming a part of the supporting device.

Further objects of the invention reside in the construction of parts and combinations of elements hereinafter more specifically described and set forth in the appended claims.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, attention is directed to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification in which the same reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout. and in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a phonograph showing one embodiment of my invention as applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a detail view of the improved crane bracket shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the phonograph cabinet being shown in section; and Fig. 3 is a sec tional View, partly in elevation, taken on line 83 of Fig. 2.

Referringto the drawing, reference character 1 represents the cabinet of a phonograph, preferably an Edison business phonograph, provided with the usual record support or mandrel 2 and the recording and reproducing mechanism 3. Suit-ably secured to the recording and reproducing mechanism 3, as by a ball and socket joint l, is a suitable sound conveyer 5, here shown as a speaking tube of the usual type. For different operators and under different condi- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. August 17, 1912.

SUPPORTING DEVICE.

Fatented Jan. 28,1913.

Serial No. 715,544.

tions of use, it is essential that the sound conveyor 5 may be adjusted from one position to another, and I have provided suitable means whereby this may readily be accomplished and the conveyor frictio-nally held in any desired position. In order to attain these results I provide a suitable support for the conveyer 5, such as a rigid arm or crane 6, preferably formed from a round steel rod and provided at one end with a stirrup or loop 7 for engaging the outer end of the conveyor 5, and at its opposite end with a cylindrical offset portion 8 mounted for universal pivotal movement on the phonograph cabinet by means of my improved bracket or joint 9. This bracket or joint 9 is preferably constructed as follows: A pair of spaced members 10 is formed integral with, or otherwise rigidly connected to, the phonograph cabinet, these members being formed of any suitable slightly resilient material, such as cast steel, whereby the outer ends thereof may be. forced toward each other. Passing through the members 10 is a bolt 11, one end of which is provided with a head 12 seated against the outer side of one of the members 10, the head 12 carrying a pin 13 entering a suitable recess in the adjacent member 10 for preventing the rotation of bolt 11. The screw threaded end of the bolt is provided with a nut 14 between which and the adjacent member 10 may be placed a washer 15, although this is not necessary if the outer surface of this member 10 and the adjacent face of the nut be finished smooth. Pivotally mounted on the bolt 11 between members 10 is a pair of clamping members 16 which are suitably spaced from members 10, as by fiber washers 17. The

portions of the clamping members between struction of the parts of the bracket or joint 9 is such that, when the offset portion 8 of the supporting arm or crane 6 is seated in the split bearing or socket, formed by the curved offsets 18 of the clamping members 16, the clamping members will be forced away from each other about their inner ends 19, the washers 17 preventing the separation of these inner ends. \Vhen the nut 14 is screwed up the outer portions of members 10 obviously will be forced toward each other and thereby force washers l7 tightly against the clamping members-.16

and the offsets 18 of the clamping members tightly against the offset portion 8 of the arm or crane, whereby considerable frictional resistance will be offered both to any pivotal movement of members 16 about the bolt 11 and of the arm or crane 6 in the split bearing or socket. The amount of this frictional resistance in the bracket or joint 9 may be regulated at any time simply by screwing up or unscrewing the nut 14 to thereby adjust the relative positions of the outer portions of the resilient members 10. hen the phonograph is in use, the amount of this frictional resistance is so regulated that the sound conveyer 5 will be held thereby, through the medium of arm or crane 6 and its stirrup 7, in any position to which it has been moved, against the action of gravity and slight pressures and vibrations to which it is ordinarily subjected, but so as to still not prevent easy manual adjustment of the sound conveyer to any desired position.

It is to be understood, of course, that my invention is capable of use for numerous other purposes than the one herein specifically described; and that various modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts in the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a sound conveyer supporting arm or crane, one end of which is adapted to engage the conveyer, and the other end of which is formed with an offset portion, and means for securing the supporting arm or crane to a phonograph cabinet comprising a pair of clamping members formed r with a bearing for the said ofi'set portion, a

pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, and means whereby the clamping members are pivotally mounted between the resilient members on an axis substantially at right angles to the axis of the bearing for the offset portion of the conveyer supporting arm orv crane, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a sound conveyer supporting arm or-crane, one end of which is formed into a stirrup or loop for engaging the conveyer, and the other end of which is provided with an ofiset portion, and means for connecting the arm or crane to a-phonograph cabinet, comprising a pair'of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, a member nonrotatably mounted in said resilient members, a pair of clamping members pivotally mounted on said non-rotatable member as an axis, the outer portions of said clamping members being provided with opposed offsets fo-rming a split bearing for the offset portion of the sound conveyer supporting arm or crane, the axis of the split bearing being substantially at right angles to the pivotal axis of the clamping members, and means cooperating with the member nonrotatably mounted in the spaced resilient members for adjusting the relative position of the free ends of the resilient members, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a sound conveyer supporting arm or crane, one end of which is adapted to engage the conveyer, and means for connecting the other end of the arm or crane to a phonograph cabinet comprising a; pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, means for adjusting the relative positions of the free ends of said members comprising a bolt horizontally mounted in the members, a pair of clamping members pivotally mounted on said bolt between the spaced resilient members, the clamping members having a pair of curved offsets forming a split bearing for the reception of the end of the supporting arm or crane, the axis of which is substantially at right angles to the bolt, and means for spacing each clamping member from the adjacent resilient member, the adjustment of the adjusting means serving to simultaneously regulate the frictional resistance to the pivotal movements of the clamping members and supporting arm or crane, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a sound conveyer supporting arm or crane, one end of which is adapted to engage the conveyer and the other. end

of which is cylindrical, and means for connecting the cylindrical end of the arm or crane to a phonograph cabinet comprising a pair of spaced resilient members fixed, at one end, a bolt passing horizontally through the resilient members, means on one endof the bolt cooperating with one of the resilient members for preventing rotation of the bolt, a pair of clamping members pivotally mounted on the bolt between the resilient members and formed beyond the free ends of the resilient members with curved ofi sets forming a split bearing for thecylindrical end of the arm or crane, the circum ferential bearing surfaces of the oflsets being less in extent than that of the cylindrical end of the arm or crane, whereby when the cylindrical end of the arm or crane is seated in its bearing, the correspondin ends of the clamping members are force away from each other about their opposite ends, and means cooperating with the bolt for adj usting the relative positions of the free ends of the resilient members, whereby the triotional resistance to the pivotal movements of the clamping members and the crane or arm may be simultaneously adjusted, sub stantially as described.

5. A supporting device comprising a rigid member, and a bracket for connecting one end of said member to a support for universal angular movement with respect there to, said bracket comprising a pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, a bolt connecting said resilient members, a pair of clamping members pivotally mounted on said bolt between the resilient members, said clamping members forming a bearing for the rigid member, the axis of which is at an angle to the pivotal axis of the clamping members, and means cooperating with the bolt for adjusting the relative positions of 'the free ends of the resilient members,

whereby the frictional resistance to the pivotal movements of the clamping members about the bolt and the rigid member in its bearing may be simultaneously adjusted by a single operation,substantially as described.

6. A supporting device comprising a rigid member, and means for connecting said member to a support comprising a bracket having a pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, a pair of clamping members, forming a bearing for said rigid member, mounted between said resilient members and having a fixed pivotal connection therewith, the axes of the bearing for the rigid member and the fixed pivotal connection being substantially at right angles, and means cooperating with the fixed pivotal connection for adjusting the relative positions of the free ends of the resilient members, whereby the frictional resistance to the pivotal movements of the clamping members and the rigid member may be simultaneously adjusted by a single operation, sub stantially as described.

7 In a bracket, a pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, a member connecting the resilient members, a pair of clamping members pivotally mounted between said resilient members on said connecting member, each of the clamping members being formed with an ofiset to form a socket adapted to pivotally receive a supporting member, and means cooperating with saio. connecting member adapted to regulate the relative positions of the free ends of the resilient members and to thereby simultaneously regulate the relative positions of the ofisets of the clamping members, substantially as described.

8. In a bracket, a pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, means, comprising a member connecting said resilient members, adapted to connect a device to said resilient members for pivotal movements with respect thereto in two directions substantially at right angles to each other, and means comprising a member cooperating with said connecting member for regulating the relative positions of the free ends of the resilient member and to thereby simultaneously adjust the frictional resistance to both pivotal movements, substantially as described.

9. In a bracket, a pair of spaced resilient members fixed at one end, a bolt connecting said resilient members, a pair of clamping members pivotally mounted on said bolt between said resilient members and provided with opposed portions forming a bearing or socket for the reception of a supporting member, the axis oi the bearing or socket always being in a plane substantially at right angles to the bolt, and means comprising a member cooperating with said bolt for adjusting the relative positions of the free ends of the resilient members, and to thereby simultaneously adjust the relative positions of the clamping members, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 16th day of August 1912.

NEWMAN H. HOLLAND. Witnesses:

WILLIAM A. HARDY, ANNA R. KLEHM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

